An amateur football team from Ayrshire are preparing to make a 700-mile round trip to play a Scottish Cup match in Shetland.

Stewarton Annick Ladies have to catch an 11:15 flight from Glasgow to Sumburgh to get there in time for the 14:30 kick-off.

The team are hoping that the match does not go to extra time and penalties as they may not make their flight back.

The players and coaches said that despite the £15,000 cost of the trip they could not pass up the chance to play the match.

And their opponents are relishing the chance to play their first-ever Scottish Cup tie on home turf.

The Shetland side have often struggled to play other women's teams since forming two years ago, given the costs involved for them in travelling to the mainland.

For some other competitions they are required to play home games in Aberdeen, but for the Scottish Cup - which Shetland are playing in for the first time - there is no such requirement.

Stewarton's players had a mixture of emotions when their name was pulled out of the hat.

"It was exciting at first, and then we looked at how hard it is logistically to get there," said Ashley Wragg, one of the club captains.

"We thought we might have to forfeit, which would mean missing out on next year too if we did that.

"But now the excitement is there, there's a really good buzz – not many teams at our level can say they have had the chance to fly out for a cup tie."

Stewarton Annick are based about 350 miles from Shetland and play in the South West Scottish Women's Football League.

The club has been backed by local businesses, undertaken fund-raising and received donations from friends and family.

The club looked at various options for the journey, including getting the ferry, but most of the team have day jobs and are working either the day before or after the game.

"The first thing we said to the girls after the draw was that it would take a lot of effort to play the game," said Kris Wales, the team's manager.

"It was either an expensive flight or hours on the ferry. On top of that we have work commitments for a lot of the players, so we realised that we would need to be in and out on the day.

"We did seriously consider forfeiting. Initially, we had two weeks to organise booking transport and sorting all the details, but the game has been moved back a week to give us more time to raise money."

Ashley Wragg, who works as a support worker with adults who have learning disabilities, said support had come in from across the women's game.

"It's an absolute godsend that people have been donating and helping out, and it shows important how women's football is to some people.

"The support has been amazing - other clubs and players with other teams have chipped in," she said.

In addition to the flights and transport, funds have also been needed for things like insurance and food and drink.

The team's journey will start on Sunday morning, when they will need to be at Glasgow Airport for about 09:30.

They are due to be back home about 21:30 after flying back to Edinburgh then completing the final leg of their journey driving back to Ayrshire after being picked up by family at the airport.

Some of the team will then head back to Glasgow airport the following day to collect the cars left there on Sunday.

The match is in the first preliminary round of the Scottish Cup - five rounds before the big clubs in the Scottish Women's Premier League enter the competition.

Kris is in no doubt that it is worth all the effort and expense to play the tie.

"We know we won't win the cup, but going as far as we can is huge for the whole club," he said.

"If we go through a few rounds you can start drawing some big names and there's always that hope."

It will also be a big game for Shetland, although for different reasons.

"Last year our home semi-final for the Highlands and Islands League Cup was played in Elgin, which involved an overnight stay that cost over £4,000", said Adam Priest, the club secretary.

"This competition is different, the home drawn team get to choose where they play, either in Shetland or a mutually agreeable venue.

"The committee decided we would really like the opportunity to play this fixture in Shetland."

Both sides have done everything they can to ensure the game goes ahead.

"Stewarton has really risen to the challenge, they've gone through a huge fundraiser process," said Adam.

A lot of people in Shetland had made donations, as had other teams in Ayrshire.

Those efforts should pay off on Sunday when the game kicks off - although Ashley does have one remaining worry.

"Extra time and penalties would be a nightmare - we might miss the flight back."